Bury My Heart On EDay
by anonymousauthor213
Summary: Meet Frasier Nash, an ordinary citizen of Sera, who is caught in the middle of the beginning of a new war in which mankind must fight to survive. This is EDay.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Which one do you like, black or burgundy?"

I snapped back into reality. "What?"

"Black or burgundy?"

"Oh," I said, looking down at the two suitcases that the clerk presented on the counter. I licked my lips, speaking softly, "Black."

"Alright," the elderly clerk smiled, going to the register. I handed him the credits, waiting quietly as he finished his task. Out the wide front windows of the shop, I could see the flow of human traffic along the sidewalks. Sera's warming sun which kept us alive on her surface was beaming bright on the city today. The cars and buses buzzed about like hordes of ants to their destinations, carrying loads of fat and happy individuals. They had jobs and schools and obligations. I had my briefcase.

"Sure is a nice day. So, where you goin'?" asked the clerk, smiling as he handed me my change. I pocketed the credits, sighing and taking my new suitcase under my arm. I looked up at him and said…"I dunno."

It was already eleven o'clock and no sirens. Aside from the sound of bustling traffic, the streets were quiet that day as I walked along towards my apartment on the East side of the city. As I walked, it seemed to me like everyone was going the opposite direction as I was, like they were strolling against me like some relentless tide. I didn't care; today I was leaving the city, for good maybe. I didn't know where I was headed, or what I would do, but I was on my way.

"Morning, Mr. Nash," someone chimed, but I said nothing. I had my mission.

It may have been the fact that I was fired from my job at the Imulsion mill yesterday, or it may have been the fact that my girlfriend moved out the week before, or it may have been the mere death of my favorite plant, or the twenty shots of liquor in my gut the previous night, or the bus that I had missed, or the lost sleep…whatever it was, it triggered the last explosion in the chain reaction of that mixed up head of mine. I was down and out for good. Some people would have gone insane, but Frasier Nash went on a refuge.

I heard the first siren as I reached the corner of Brail and Knoch. The crime tally of the day had started in the lovely city that I had called home for twelve years. Ever since the Pendulum Wars had ceased, the Army let me go, and I found my little piece of heaven on Knoch Avenue. And that story didn't seem to change for a decade.

Eight steps. I was eight steps from my door when I heard the second howling siren. I was surprised at first that the two had sounded so close together, then shrugged it off as a coincidence. Crime was big in the city nowadays. It was usual, especially on the weekends. But it was only noon….oh well. Time to pack.

I reached into my pocket and found my security card into the apartment complex. That's when I heard the third siren. This one sounded closer, only a block away. It was eerie, echoing off of the buildings like some gaping manmade cave. There were people on the streets, listening. They grew quiet, turning in the direction of the sirens, looking into an invisible void that we could all see spelled out our worst nightmares. Was it the ghastly silence on Knoch Avenue, or the look on Mrs. Peterman's face as she stopped sweeping her front porch to listen, or the fact that the ground was vibrating under my nice new tennis shoes? Whatever it is, it turned me pale, and led me inside to the illusion of safety that my apartment offered.

I climbed the stairs, shaking off what had just happened. It was a coincidence, that was all. I was going to pack my suitcase, catch a bus out of the city, rent a personal shuttle and disappear into the hills. I got to my room and opened my dresser drawers when I heard a convoy of police vans whirring past, the sirens howling down the corridor of street as they went along. The pitch rose and then fell in unison with my heart rate. There was someone shouting in the street but no one was listening to them. I almost laughed, because that's exactly how I had felt that past week.

Then, my apartment shook. The vibration was miniscule at first, then built up around me. The concrete walls shook, my possessions convulsing violently around me, like they were possessed by some sinister, unworldly spirit. The carbon lamp fell straight out of the ceiling, clattering to the kitchen floor in pieces. I heard a thud, like a sort of echoing sound from a mile away that went straight through every building, car and person in the city. An explosion.

I went to the window to try and peer outside into the street, when the glass shattered right in front of me, showering out into the air. I jumped backward, then crept forward nervously, peaking down into the street. Knoch was covered in a blanket of broken glass. Shards covered everything, shimmering in the sunlight. Every window in the city had become open in an instant. Was this that thing they always used to warn us about? Judgement Day? God, if you want to end the world, just wait until I get to the mountains.

There was a haze rising into the city, like the earth of Sera itself was breathing into us, warning us of some impending doom. Someone screamed in the street below as the cloud of debris enveloped everything. That was it, I was out of my apartment and back into the street. I found myself in a scattered crowd, all of us standing together looking up blankly for some sort of answer. There was only silence…a cold, haunting silence.

"Do you think it's…the Imulsion? Maybe a surge?" I heard someone say behind me.

"No," I decided to share, "Imulsion surges take days. This is something different. Something worse."

As if I had ushered in the apocalypse with my words, we heard the explosions sounding off elsewhere in the city. A thud, a wailing car alarm. A gunshot, a shout. A woman's shrill scream. The clash of war had erupted in an instant, like someone had flipped a switch. The familiar horrific clatter echoed around us. I was certain that hell itself had just punctured a hole into the city and we were all witnesses.

And then we all saw it, stirring in the haze that masked our senses. It crept towards us. I smelt it first, the sickening stench seeping to us like the thick haze. It was large, at least twenty feet tall. There were finger-like legs that stretched high into the air, like some giant spider reaching for the hidden sun. There were flashes of gunfire creating halos in the fog. We saw figures, running and bounding. There were screams, the sounds of radios and gunfire. Then there was another sound, something inhuman. It gave me chills, hearing it. Needless to say, that's when the running began.

We fled through the fog, down the street. We ran, every man for himself. We looked for anywhere safe, anything that could shield us from the terror. We hadn't fully seen it, but we didn't want to. We could feel it, somewhere behind us, panting and heaving as it went faster to catch up and make all our worst nightmares come true. Bullet tracers hissed around us, cutting through the fog. In seconds we were in a warzone. We fled together. Some of them went to back alleys or behind cars…I don't think they made it. Me, I kept running down the street until I couldn't run anymore.

I ran out of breath at the end of the street and stopped. I doubled over as I looked around and saw that I was alone. I caught my breath, hearing the terror continue in the heart of the city. Over the mask of the haze, I saw the towers of buildings jutting into the sky. One had started to crumble and fall, crashing down onto the rest of the city. Another was burned and charred, blackened by some hellish fire. The city was falling apart right before my eyes. I had no explanation for what was happening. It's funny how the brain doesn't register like that when the adrenaline is pumping. All you can do is run and hope for the best.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

There were no vehicles that I could use; no one I could turn to. I was alone, stumbling across a white footbridge that crossed the river running through the city. Another strange stench drew me to gaze into the running water. In moments, I saw the currents turning crimson with blood, streaming from the heart of the city. And then I saw the bodies, hundreds of them, floating like buoys out from the city.

A screech tore through the sky above me. A squadron of a dozen COG warplanes streaked down from the skies, directly overhead, towards the city. I watched them disappear into the haze that was rising higher and higher with each moment. I stood alone on the bridge, hearing the thuds of massive bombs and the smashing of steel and concrete. For that moment, I couldn't breathe.

A raven swam through the air over the street, its speaker-system blaring, "Attention. All citizens must evacuate their homes immediately. This is not a test. All citizens must evacuate the city. Attention…" On and on and on.

The streets were littered with debris. Everyone who hadn't already evacuated were behind closed doors, waiting it out. Near the end of town, where the housing projects began, I found an overturned skid bike at the side of the road. Seeing no one around, I set the bike upright and balanced myself on its seat, giving its engine life. I was relieved to hear it roar to life, then sent myself careening down the empty street, maneuvering around parked cars and other debris.

About halfway down the street, I felt the ground rumble again, like it had before at my apartment. Heading down the street, I saw the concrete surface jump out from under me, life some wave in the sea. Before I could figure out what was going on, an explosion went off in the middle of an intersection. Dirt sprayed up into the air in a black fountain. Surprised, I made a violent maneuver to stop the bike from heading right into what appeared to be a gaping hole in the middle of the street. I froze for a moment, peering into the settling dust. A haze began to rise up from the gaping hole, carrying a stench that brought me back to Knoch Avenue, with all those screams and gunfire.

And then I saw a hand emerge from the hole, grabbing a hold of the gap's lip. The hand was large with fingers like power cables. It was dead white and smudged with dirt. An arm appeared, the same color, bulging with muscles that flexed like giant boulders stacked on bone. And then, the face; the face that had hollow, lizard-like eyes that stared at me, and a fanged mouth that grinned and chuckled in a low, alien sound that made my heart stop. They came out together, in hordes, climbing out of this hole in the middle of the street. There were automatic weapons on their backs, ammo draped across their barreled chests, and they wore black armor that shined in the dying sun. Hell had reached the surface of Sera.

I turned the bike around when they spotted me. I tried to breathe, gunning the engine and speeding the skid bike in the opposite direction. I heard the sporadic gunshots, felt the bullets sing around my head as I sped away. The bike couldn't have taken me fast enough.

Just as I thought I had evaded them, another explosion sounded down the road. This time, I could not stop the bike. I saw the street buckle and break, saw the dirt fly up and chunks of the road disappear. Before I could break, I found myself flying over this hole, hanging in the air, hoping and praying I could reach the other side. I felt the bike fall short just as my heart sank into my chest, like in an awkward, sinking slow motion. I reached out in front of me, using my legs to spring off of the doomed bike and grab a hold of the edge of the hole. I clung there, my legs dangling as the bike sunk into the abyss below.

Dangling for my life, I attempted to pull myself up and out, but to no avail. And then, I heard a deep, dark chuckle that grabbed a hold of me like icy death itself, and talked my body into pulling itself out of that hole in a flash. Again, I was running down the street. I ran and ran and ran. The raven appeared overhead again, flying down the road and behind me. I heard its chain-gun roaring into action, sending a spray of deadly heated rounds into my assailants. The street erupted into a hail or red-hot lead that cut down everything in its path. I kept running until once again, I was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Hello? Anyone?"

It was sometime in the afternoon when I found the old Freeman apartment complex. It was empty as usual, clothes and other objects scattered all over the floors. All eight floors were left in a shambled mess. Dozens of families, forced out of their homes, were missing. There were old family portraits and paintings left hanging on the walls. Mixed with the running sinks, the lights left on, and the still-warm stoves, I could feel the echo of what life had once been in this old place near the outside of town.

The com-lines that ran throughout the cities were down. When I picked up the receiver to one of the links, it was dead. It wasn't like I had anyone to call anyway.

I found a nice room on the fourth floor. There, I took of my jacket and started washing my face. Outside the window the sat in front of me, I saw the park. It sat, overlooking the smoking city. Metropolis was a heap of smoldering mass under a pillar of black smoke rising into the air. Below, a motorcade of heavily armed military vehicles sped off around the park and towards the city. The eerie haze rose around the city, marking the entrances to the holes in which the creatures came. Most of the city had been dominated by this unearthly presence.

Ravens droned across the horizon, patrolling the skies. Another squadron of fighters made a bombing run on the East District. I saw the blue aura of the detonations as entire city blocks were decimated. It looked like the last bit of effort that humankind had in surviving this awful attack. It had been almost two hours since the first hole broke through the surface.

Everything was deserted. No one was left inside or outside the building. The COG had been quick to evacuate the area. I just wondered if this was the only city that had been attacked. Was it possible that this was going on anywhere else? Black smoke rising from over the countryside soon answered my question.

In a moment, I ducked away from the window. There in the streets, the creatures had appeared. Like the brutish monsters that they were, they crept down the alleys in large packs. They stuck together, speaking amongst one another, giving orders and speaking. I shuddered as I crouched behind the sink, praying. I went over to the front door and locked it. Furthermore, I slid a couch from the living room directly in front of the entrance. After that had been accomplished, I went to the bedroom, looking through the old master's drawers for some kind of weapon. I found my salvation in an ancient .44 magnum, one that I had seen in old time movies from Earth.

I waited there, in that room, peering out the window every once in a while to see what was happening. The streets were clear; the creatures had moved on.

I crept out of the bedroom, keeping as quiet as possible. I went to the front door and slid the couch away, poking my head into the hall. And then suddenly, I heard something hit the floor in the distance that made me withdraw. After more silence, I carefully looked into the threshold once again. There was nothing there, just jumbles of discarded items scattered across the floor.

I stepped out of the room and towards the stairwell, still keeping my footsteps light against the old fashioned wooden floors. Checking over my shoulder from time to time, I started down the first flight of stairs. And then I saw something that caught my eye, lying on the ground. It was a train ticket, for the tyro.

"The train…"

As I said those words, I heard something grunt behind me. I spun around, seeing a massive bulk of flesh dominate my vision, as well as the hallway. The monster turned its eyeless head towards me, sniffing the air. I gasped, just before it howled a horrific sound that peeled the paint from the walls and made me want to vomit. The beast sprung forward in a blur. Quite surprised at its speed, I leaped out of the way, climbing up the nearest flight of stairs.

The beast smashed through the doorway into the stairwell. Splinters of wood and plaster showered over me. I ran up the stairs, hearing the monster roar and swing its enormous club-like fists, punching a hole through solid concrete in a single blow. I ran faster, my footsteps echoing as I climbed, climbed, climbed. Then I felt the stairs give way beneath me. The wood snapped as the beast tore it apart with its body, growling wildly. I grabbed hold of a pipe running up and down the wall of the shaft, and clung for dear life.

For a moment, the beast paused, standing just a flight below me. It giant chest heaved and it panted, sniffing and growling, turning its head from side to side. Did I know I was here? I kept silent, hanging over it from a mere metal pipe about five inches thick. My feet were dangling just above its wide, scaled head.

"It can't see you," said a voice from below, "Don't make a sound."

"What?"

When I tried to pull myself upward, the pipe wiggled and piece of drywall fell. With this small sound, the beast looked upward, sniffing.

"Oh, shit."

Then, with one giant heave, the monster swung its arm upward, smashing straight through the wooden stairs, hitting me straight on and sending me upward. I came down, sprawling onto the next flight. An excruciating pain struck at my chest a second later. I grabbed at it, then realized that the monster was still on my trail. I got up, limping upward towards the door marked "Roof."

Great. What do I do now? I led it to the roof. I think I already mentioned how the brain doesn't function well in situations like this. Me running to the roof with a giant alien berserker on my tail is a perfect example of this.

The creature leapt upwards, hearing my grunts of pain. Its body smashed right through the stairs beneath me, once again sending me sailing up into the stairwell. This time, I landed almost upright, right beside the door. The creature sprinted with heavy, long strides, breathing right onto my neck. I opened the door, about to run through when it struck again, smashing the frame with me inside it. I thought I felt my spine snap as I went hurtling forward, my limbs flailing out behind my body. I am gonna die…

The berserker sprung out after me, the sunlight raining down on both of us on top of that roof. We were five levels above the ground, the sounds of war echoing off in the distance. I remember the slight breeze I felt through my hair as I looked up at the creature standing over me. Blood was tricking down my face.

"Don't move!" said that disembodied voice again.

I tried to look, but couldn't see. And then came a burst of light from above. Flames sprouted forth like a giant flower, covering the creature in an instant. It wailed and roared, swinging its arms at the rising flames which were enveloping its body. I smelled burning alcohol.

In a moment, I got to my feet, slowly but surely. All I could do was get some space between the dying alien and myself. The creature heard me limping away and dismissed the fact that it was being consumed by fire. It sprinted forward, howling with a purpose of hate and pain mixed in one hideous sound. I knew I couldn't outrun it this time, waiting to feel my body snap in half.

"Get down!"

Something hit me from the side, tackling me to the ground. I fell, yelling in pain, just in time to see the creature sprint past, trailing flames and smoke. It swung its arms wildly, screaming for my blood. Lying on the ground with someone beside me, I ducked as it bounded right for me. To my surprise, its stride just missed me. Its giant foot passed right over my head as it careened across the roof and towards the edge. I rolled over to see what would happen, and when I did, the creature was gone. There was just blue sky and clouds beyond the rooftop.

"That was a close one," said the voice beside me.

A face came into my sight, blocking out the sun above me, creating a silhouette. By the long hair tied under a bandana, I could tell it was a woman, maybe in her mid-twenties. She was slim, and as far as I could tell, attractive; with a face of someone of part Asian descent.

"You're hurt," she said, kneeling over me, "What's your name, stranger?"

"Frasier," was all I could say, "…Nash."

"Frasier Nash," she said, "We gotta get you to a hospital."

"Too bad the hospital's gone," I said.

She helped me up to my feet. I held onto my chest with one arm, wiping the blood and sweat from my face with the other. The woman went over to the edge of the roof and looked down. I did the same, gasping at the sight of a crushed, half-flaming alien monstrosity, leaking its bodily-liquids onto the pavement.

"Nice," I said, coughing harshly. "Who are you?"

"Alexa," she said. "What's your story? Miss the evacuation shuttles?"

"Yeah…" I grinned.

Suddenly, we heard chatter from below. I looked over and saw two of the white creatures that carried automatic weapons gazing at one of their crushed kin, soaking in its own blood on the sidewalk. The pair looked up, saw us, then disappeared into the building and somewhere below our feet.

"Uh oh," she said, "You still got that magnum?"

"What?"

She pulled up my shirt and pulled the handgun out of my pant waist, then led me away from the rooftop and back into the stairwell. Together, we made our way back down the remains of the stairs when we heard our enemies heading up to face us dead on. Alexa pointed the gun over the railing of the stairs and fired off two rounds, startling our attackers. Then, she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the stairwell and back into the third floor hallway. There, we ducked behind a desk that had been dragged into the corridor.

"Keep your head down," she said, training the gun on the doorway.

The first of the creatures turned the corner, chuckling. Alexa unloaded two quick rounds, the handgun kicking in her hands. The rounds propelled the first creature flat on its back. The seconds spun into the doorway, automatic weapon blazing. The hallway was filled with lead. Alexa ducked down beside me as tracers hissed around us, some even penetrating our cover.

"I hate these things," she said, jumping back out from behind cover and firing in retaliation. "Die already!"

The round caught the creature in the arm, turning its forcep into a bloody heap of tendons and bone. The creature screamed, dropping its automatic weapon to the floor. Still, it turned and pursued us, grinning with pointed teeth, sprinting down the hallway at full speed. I cowered in fear, scuffling away from the aggressor. Just as it dove over the desk, a gunshot sounded in the hallway. There was a flash, then the spray of blood and brain matter, then the headless body landing onto the floor beside me. Its leg kicked and its finger twitched one last time.

Alexa threw the gun aside. "Last shot." She wiped her hands off, kicking the dead creature's boot. Then, her eyes met mine. I looked down at the dead alien beside me, then looked up at her, gaping.

"So...you hungry?" she asked.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The swelling sun was setting, like a ticking time bomb about to explode in a barrage of orange, reds, and purples. I usually watched the sunset after work, as I was walking home from the mill by the seaside. The boardwalk would be alive, pulsing with human sound and a river of beautiful fluorescent lights, the sun falling behind the horizon, sinking below the waves.

Tonight, the sunset was hidden behind a blanket of rising dirt and smoke. The haze rose in the air, staining the sky black as night fell over the violence below. It was still going on, all of the fighting and bloodshed in the streets. For hours, Alexa and I watched from the rooftop and out windows, watching the atrocities occur.

Around five o'clock, the creatures had ransacked and entire housing project, dragging its survivors out into the streets and gunning them all down. The sidewalks ran red with blood. There was nothing we could so to stop it, other than to stay hidden and survive.

Every once in a while, a raven would swing by overhead, catching some of the aliens in the street and mowing them down with heavy fire. However, the resistance never amounted to much, as sometimes the creatures would retaliate with their own surface to air defenses. We saw the ravens crashing left and right, smashing into buildings and houses. If there were any survivors in the crash-site, they were dealt with in seconds. By seven o'clock that night, all ravens and COG fighters had completely disappeared from the skies.

The creatures were always moving. They paraded down the streets, marching down the sidewalks in large numbers. They sometimes patrolled with their larger counterparts. We saw horrific things – giant beasts and creatures that wouldn't have appeared in your wildest imaginations. There were like demons, walking about with a haunting gleam in their eyes. All they wanted was to kill. No political agenda, no strategic order, just the simple mission to kill.

We were eating our dinner of canned protein supplements and crackers together on the floor of someone's apartment. We had no lighting and didn't dare risk starting a fire and having them see us. My torso was wrapped in bandages that we had come across. Even as I sat, my ribs ached, sandwiched between my bruised skin and swollen insides. We were alone, not saying a word, just eating and reflecting on the day. The sun was setting in the distance.

"So," I finally said, "What now?"

"We could stay here for the night," Alexa said, looking around, "Wait 'til morning, then move out."

I thought about it for a moment, then looked up and said, "What about the tyro?"

"The train?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, "The tyro line. What if we make it to the station and get to some place safe? I'm sure there are remote stations that can take us to the mountains, or the Jacinto Plateau where these things can't get through. We can hide out there."

"We'll have to wait 'til morning," she said, looking out the window.

"Yeah, but if we wait, the COG might shut down the line," I said, "They couldn't afford to let it fall into enemy hands."

"So, you want us to make a run for the tyro station tonight?"

"I think we should."

"Alright then," she stood up, "Let's do it."

The sun hadn't even finished setting by the time we were out the door. We took the back exit, out a window facing West, away from the street. Together, we climbed down into a back alley, sticking together in the shadows. I came across a human body lying on the ground, shrouded in darkness, collecting flies. Everywhere we went, the smell of death surrounded us. Houses were on fire, bodies lay neglected in the filth, pools of blood surrounding them.

We hid as the creatures passed by, finding any cover that happened to be lying around. You could smell them, like the stench from the haze that rose from the emergence holes. It made me sick. I fought the urge to vomit, hiding behind a dumpster.

As we neared the edge of town, Alexa peaked around the corner of the alleyway into an open street. It was starting to get dark, and a fog was lying over the road. We were near the industrial district, smelling the flames and soot from the factories and Imulsion mills lining the streets. Piers and towers jutted up from out of the fog and into the fading blue sky. There, a few feet away, a running car sat with its doors open, idling by the sidewalk.

Alexa motioned me forward, and together we crept toward the mysterious car. She had a broken pipe in her hand, poised and ready to use it. I looked inside, seeing that the car was empty as she glanced around for any sign of human life. We turned to one another and shrugged.

She was about to get inside, when suddenly someone said, "Get away from the car."

I turned and saw someone standing there in the doorway leading into a corner store. It was a middle-aged man, carrying a shotgun trained on us. Behind him stood a young girl holding a bag of groceries. She looked at us with wide eyes, her glance shifting from us to her father.

"Woah," Alexa put up her hands, "We didn't think it belonged to anyone. We just wanna get outta here."

"You and the rest of us," said the man. "Where are you guys headed in such a hurry? The roads are all closed down."

"The roads are closed?" I inquired.

"Yeah," he said, "We tried to escape when the first of 'em came through the surface. The police tried to help the evacuation, but they were the first to go. So we took this car and tried heading out to the mountains. Little did we know that the COG had all major routes leading out of the city barricaded to keep the Locust from moving. Guess they forgot that there were emergence holes all over the planet."

"So they basically sealed us all in," Alexa said, "Just like that."

"Just like that," he nodded, "The Locust came down on those folks hard."

"Wait a minute…" I said, "Locust?"

"We're not headed down the roads," Alexa interrupted, "We're taking the train. You know if it's still up and running?"

"As far as I know," the man said, "Might be a safe bet. Don't mind if we tag along?"

Alexa looked to me, then back at them, eyeing them up and down. She looked to the young girl, holding the groceries in one hand and her teddy bear in the other, dangling by one arm.

"We won't slow you down," the father insisted, "I promise."

"Let's take 'em with us, Alexa," I said.

"Sure," she shrugged, "The more the merrier. But I'm driving."

We piled into the car, the man, Clive, and his daughter Lauren in the back with Alexa at the wheel, and me in the passenger seat. We started through the industrial complex with the last of the sunlight draining from the sky behind us, like blood flowing from an open wound until the day was dead. Blackness fell over the jungle canopy of spires and cranes that we passed under. It was almost eight o'clock.

"I hear that most of the refugees are making a break for Jacinto," said the man, "There's no way those things can punch through solid granite."

"That's the idea," she said.

I glanced in the back seat where the girl was sitting. She looked out the window, blankly. There was no emotion on her face as she watched the world go by. The pair had a black suitcase between them, much like the one that I had bought that morning. It almost made me chuckle, when the girl looked to me. I smiled, trying to make connection, but instead she just turned away, looking towards the floor.

Her father began coaxing her to sleep in the back of the car, petting her head until she was fast asleep. When she was, he looked to me and said, "She lost her mother and two brothers, today. She hasn't cried or said a word since. I guess it could be worse."

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"Yeah," he said, "But, I guess all good things have to end somehow. Like this planet. We made it into this little Utopia. Finally, when humankind could put our differences aside, something else comes right out of the ground from which we built this place. I wonder how long they were waiting for us…?"

"Get down!" Alexa cried.

Something hissed over the car as we drove. A missile, sprouting from the blackness curved over the car and exploded over our heads. Seconds later, bullets smashed through the windows. We ducked and screamed, Alexa grabbing the wheel and veering us against the wall of lead and explosives that materialized from the night.

"The shotgun!" Clive handed me the weapon, as I was sitting in the passenger seat.

I took it in my hands, and without thinking, propped it in through the open passenger window. I pulled the trigger, firing in the direction of our attackers. With each kick of the weapon, as I cocked it back and let another burst fly, I felt a sense of satisfaction. I was finally getting back at them, for all they had done that day. This was the payback, and it was sweet.

One of the Locust was leaning behind a steel guardrail beside the road. I saw him duck out to shoot and fired my two rounds from the shotgun as fast as I could. As we blurred past, I saw the creature falling backwards, howling into the night as its own blood sprayed over the pavement.

"Jesus," Alexa sighed as we careened down the street, leaving the carnage behind us. It grew quiet again inside of the car. I clashed my hands around my knees; they were shaking.

"What a day."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Nightfall. Rain.

The pain is really kicking in as we turn the corner and head towards the train station. I feel the weight in my chest expanding, burning me inside. We pass another emergence hole. Just as we do, Clive hands me a pill from a bottle that he had been carrying with him. I took it, looking back at him.

"No worries," he said, "It's a painkiller."

I just met the man, and I probably shouldn't have taken it, but I swallowed it. Anything that could take the pain away. By the time the car began to slow, I was feeling a little better. He smiled and I thanked him.

"Here we are," Alexa said.

"See anything?" Clive asked.

"I dunno," she answered, peering out through the windshield which was continuing to collect rain. The downpour started ever since we had been driving, with no sign of letting up. It was not a good omen.

"Okay," I said, "Alexa, we'll go in and check things out."

"I'm coming," said Clive.

"Maybe you'd better stay in here," Alexa glanced at the young girl sleeping beside him.

He sighed, "Right."

The rain was cold and stinging, running down my collar and soaking through my jacket and shirt onto my back as we ran across the street and to the station's gate. Alexa had her trusty pipe while I had Clive's shotgun, loaded and ready. We ran against the walls on either side of the gate, which was smashed and hanging from broken hinges. Our eyes met, hers shining in the dark, wet cold, and then we entered together.

The station was outside. There was a central area on the ground floor, spanning over the whole grounds. There were concession stands, bathroom facilities, ticket booths, and kiosks, all just sitting abandoned and soaking up the rain. Above the central area was an overpass on which the platform was. On each side of the overpass, two twin staircases running up either side and meeting about thirty feet above. The station was long and skinny, covered with an awning and scattered with benches and trashcans.

We moved across the central station, past the ticket booths and kiosks, then passing under the platform where a COG military van was parked randomly. Using it as cover, we moved forward, looking around as we went. A quick sweep of the lonesome platform and we knew the area was clear.

Alexa checked one of the kiosks, sitting down behind its computer terminal and booting it up. It ran slow for the first couple minutes, then came up to speed. I ducked in under the kiosk with her, shaking the rain out of my hair. As she checked the database for the upcoming train arrivals, she looked over her shoulder and asked, "How's that painkiller holding up?"

"Not bad," I groaned, sitting down then standing back up as a sharp pain pierced my mid-section.

"Ah, here we go," she stated, bringing up the train manifold, "Looks like most of the passenger routes were shut down after the Locust emerged. COG is bringing in some of the auto-trains, most of them supply lines. But there's one headed here in forty minutes."

"Isn't there one before?" I asked.

"Nope," then she looked to me, "And I guess that's the last one of the day. And the week…"

"Okay," I said, "So we're waiting."

And we waited, in the cold and the rain. Clive drove his car onto the station premises and parked it there. He let his daughter sleep while he came out and helped us fortify the station. Alexa did her best to close the gate and lock it behind us with chains that she had found in a maintenance hut. Meanwhile, I examined the COG van. I noticed that the back door was unlocked and opened it. To my surprise, I found that my hand was covered a in a sticky red fluid. It was then I heard a moan from the rear of the van. A gloved hand reached up out of the shadows, towards me.

"Hey man," a voice said, "You gonna help me up?"

I grabbed the hand and pulled him upright. A face came into the light, a large and chiseled one. It was a COG soldier, in full armor, stained with his own blood. He looked young, with no hair on his perfectly shaved head. His arms were enormous, as were most of the COG's, and his legs were like tree-trunks. On his chest-plate, a name was stenciled in. CORPORAL WEST. At his hip, a chunk of his armor was missing. Blood was gushing out and into his lap as he sat up.

"Bit of a sight ain't it?" he groaned, "We were at the House of Commons, trying to set of defenses. We were right in the middle of that mess, man. Emergence holes on every side. You couldn't see the sky, there were so many bullets flyin' around. My buddies got hit, then I got hit. The Lieutenant packed me up with the rest that were left in this here van. I think he got it the worst, though." He gestured to the front of the van, where two corpses were rotting in the front seat, their bodies mangled. The windshield was peppered with bullet-holes, smeared red with blood.

"Name's West," he said, "Who are you folks?"

I told him my name and said, "We're waiting for the train."

"Oh yeah?" he raised his eyebrows, "Me too. I thought this might come in handy then."

He had a sniper rifle across his lap. He held it up with one hand, holding his wound with the other. I took it, examining the sleek scoped rifle. It was heavy in my hands, taking me back to days long past.

"I wouldn't be very good with it at my current status," he said, "Sorry, there's not a lot of ammo left, but you folks can make good use of it in case those nasties come by again. They probably know we're here by now."

Just then, I heard Alexa calling. I went back to the kiosk where she had been waiting. She had a terrified look on her face, whispering, "I saw them moving around outside. They're coming."

"They want that train just as much as we do," West said, limping out from the back of the van. He had a Lancer in one hand, lifting the heavy weapon with its chainsaw bayonet without difficulty. "It would be wise to fight them off."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"They're coming! They're coming!"

Alexa sprinted back across the central area towards the kiosk through the rain. With the sniper rifle in her hand, she dove over the counter and took cover behind it. She peaked over, glancing towards the gate. For a moment, the black gate was till and serene behind a layer of rain.

I ran to her side, sliding behind the counter. In my hand I had three fragmentation grenades I had salvaged from the COG van. I motioned for her to go, leaving me alone in the kiosk, facing the gate. I heard something moving on the other side and held my breath. Twenty minutes until the train arrived.

Alexa was jogging back to the rear of the station, which was countered by an old factory. She went inside the building, climbing the stairs to the third floor. She took position in one of the windows, cocking the sniper rifle and laying it on the frame, peering down the scope aimed on the gate. She gave West the thumbs up.

West nodded to her, standing on the platform overlooking the central area. With Lancer in hand, he walked back and forth, watching for any sign of Locust. Clive was beside him with the shotgun. He had a cigar in his mouth, fiddling through his pockets for a lighter. West had one in his armor, assisting Clive with the cigar. He saw down on one of the benches, thanking the COG. Then, he glanced back to where his daughter slept in the car parked in the rear of the central area.

I heard the Locust first, growling and roaring in blood-lust. I couldn't see them, but knew they were coming. The ground rumbled beneath our feet. Something sounded like dragging chains, along with the revving of mechanical saws. I felt my palms sweating. This was it.

Silence. Rain.

The gate was shattered as a blur rammed itself straight through. I gasped as I saw another Berserker appear, standing in the entrance to the train station. It roared with gaping jaws, howling into the air, waving its giant arms about, which trailed broken chains that lashed around in the rain. Not again. Not again.

I primed one of the grenades, then threw it up into the air. It arched, then came back down right between the creature's feet. The explosion went off right before the creature, and it shielded its face from the blast, stunned. As the dirt settled, it was still standing. It roared in my direction, sprinting forward.

"Get out of there!" West howled, firing with the Lancer from the platform above.

Behind the Berserker, hordes of Locust appeared, flooding through the gate and into the fray. I turned and started to run, the Berserker whipping its chains through the air, smashing straight through the kiosk. I sprinted under the platform, towards the COG van.

West and Clive opened fire with their weaponry on the Locust drones spilling through the gate and into the open area. They were falling in the hail of gunfire, blood mixing with the rain. The Berserker pursued me, its chains flying through the air and striking the platform. West saw one arching towards him like a metallic snake. He dove out of the way, just before the chain split a crack straight into the stone platform. Thinking fast, he grabbed the chain lying there before it could slither away. It jolted in his grasp, and the Berserker was soon leashed to his control. It stopped advancing on me only feet away from what would have been my demise. It howled in anger as I stood a short distance away from its giant face.

"They keep coming!" Clive shouted, firing into the central area.

Alexa was doing her part with the sniper rifle, laying down a good bit of fire from her perch in the factory. She chuckled as another drone was taken down by another precise round.

West clung to the chain with both hands, screaming into the night as his muscles twisted and strained. His foothold was slipping with each tug from the giant beast. "You're not going anywhere!"

Finally, the Berserker won their game of tug 'o war, pulling West off his feet and sailing across the train station, landing on one of the staircases that led to the platform with a resounding thud.

In a flash, the Berserker started forward again, looking for me. When it did, I was standing in the doorway of the COG van, this time with a new weapon. The Hammer of Dawn was heavy in my arms, but I held it poised as I led the creature out from under the platform. When it charged again, I dropped to one knee, pin-pointing the calibration system, and pulling the trigger. In a flash, a blinding orange light cut down from the heavens, as if some act of God, right onto the creature's body. It howled in the immense heat, the air blistering and burning around it. Its skin cooked on the bone, its organs turning to heaps of smoldering liquids. In moments, it was no more.

I saw West, lying on the staircase. He wasn't moving. Clive called to me, firing his shotgun and defending the COG. I advanced forward, priming up the Hammer of Dawn once again and training it on the gate. I sent another wave of bone-melting heat down with the hailing rain. The drones hadn't seen what hit them before they were swept up by an angry fire. With the weapon, I swept it across the threshold, engulfing any straggling Locust in its burst of deadly sunray. Clive and the others stepped back as the central area of the station burned like the apocalypse. Our attackers had now been reduced to piles of ashes. It was quiet again.

Clive ran to West, who was stirring on the staircase, trying to sit up. I went to join them, first giving the thumbs up to Alexa. She returned the gesture.

"How are you?" Clive asked.

"I'm fine," West shook his head, standing, "Where's my gun?"

"You won't need it," Clive said, "They're gone for good."

"Doubt it," said West, walking over and kicking what was left of the Berserker, "These things never quit."

Clive's daughter appeared, running through the rain to hug her father. He hugged her back. She was crying. She petted her head, handing me his shotgun. Then, he picked her up.

"Let's get you inside," Clive said.

Just then, a bolt of sizzling energy cut through the air just over Clive's shoulder, penetrating the ground just beyond. "Get down!" exclaimed West. He went shoved us all over, just as the bolt of energy exploded in the ground, sending pieces of stone flying everywhere. Another bolt came down nearby, doing the same.

When the blast cleared, Clive picked up his daughter and ran for the platform. Clive and I turned in which the enemy fire was coming from. There was a warehouse across the street where Locust could be seen, firing out of the open windows. Running to the cover of the gate, I readied another grenade and swung it about, gaining enough force to send it sailing through one of the warehouse's windows. It exploded, sending out a plume of smoke and pieces of flesh. A few feet away, in the rubble, I saw one of the bow-like weapons land.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble once again, shifting the pebbles and stones across the pavement in its vibrations. In a moment, West and I held our breath, our eyes meeting and growing wide. Then, directly behind him, a geyser of dirt bellowed into the air, making way for an emergence hole right under the platform. West spun around, sending shell after shell from his Lancer into the growing hole.

"Get inside the factory!" West said, "Help Alexa cover us!"

So, I turned and made my way across the carnage, first grabbing the bow. As I crossed the central area, I primed my last grenade and dropped it into the emergence hole. It exploded, the concussion sending dirt flying into the air and killing dozens more of the Locust invaders, buying us time.

"Go!" West exclaimed, firing down into the emergence hole.

I entered the factory, climbing the stairs and finding Alexa as she accurately picked off the assailants in the warehouse one by one. She nodded to me as I continued to climb. One the top floor, I found a crane that ran across the lot to the warehouse in which the enemy fire was coming from. God I hate heights.

Slowly, I climbed to the top of it, and then across, almost a hundred feet above the train station which was now alive with gunfire. Clive had the Hammer of Dawn, directing it as best he could towards the warehouse. I reached the end of the crane, leveling my bow weapon and inserting my arm into its metallic sleeve. It locked into place, priming up a red-hot barb of energy into the firing mechanism. I pulled with my inserted hand, creating torque inside the weapon. Next, I aimed for one of the Locust guards, which was framed perfectly in one of the windows and let go. The barb sailed across, impaling the Locust through the throat. It howled, reaching for it as its blood sprayed out into the air. Then, the barb exploded, sending pieces of the guard everywhere.

I took another few shots with it before I heard a scream from below. I saw West, kneeling down, blood fountaining from his knee. He fell over, wailing in pain. The Locust were spilling forth from the open emergence hole, one after another. West was still firing however, cutting them down as they came. Alexa tried to cover him as he attempted to stand, but couldn't get a clear shot under the platform.

Then, a very large Locust reached West, pulling the Lancer out of his grasp. He kicked the COG to his stomach. I tried to ready another barb, when all of a sudden a rocket streaked across the station, hitting the crane. I clung to its steel frame is it began to swing back and forth, about to fall down.

The Gear tried to get back up, but the Locust wouldn't let him. Instead, it raised up one of its giant boots, glaring down at the soldier, then slamming it down onto West's unprotected head, smashing it. In a moment, everything was silent, or seemed silent, even as I screamed. The Locust looked up at me, then beat its chest, howling. Then it turned for Clive and his daughter.

In an instant, I primed another barb and fired it down at the Alpha Locust that had killed the brave soldier. I fired, but the skilled warrior plucked the arrow out of the air just before it hit him. And then, it signaled for one of its troops. A large, bulky alien appeared, grunting and lifting a weapon that was almost as big as I was. It fired a rocket, straight up at the crane. The explosion rocked the crane, and the foundation gave way. I heard the steel bend and moan, and then I felt myself falling.

Falling. Always falling.

I landed in a heap. The canopy from the platform cradled me as I fell, sending me sailing into one of the awnings of a concession stand, breaking my fall. I knew immediately that I was lucky to be alive. That feeling soon fell away as my blurred vision came upon a giant boot directly next to my head. I looked up and saw the giant grenadier Locust standing over me.

"Boom!" it howled, stupidly lowering it giant weapon at me, the barrel roughly the size of my head.

A crack sounded in the night as a round struck the Locust in the back of the head. Brains splashed onto the sidewalk beside me. The Boomer crossed its eyes, looking for the hole in the middle of its forehead. It fell in a heap. I got to my feet, limping to the platform stairs as Alexa continued to cover me. Round after rounded snapped through the train station, cutting down our attackers little by little, swiftly and quietly. As I passed West's body, I grabbed his Lancer.

I reached the platform, ducking down with Clive and his daughter.

"I couldn't let her lose anyone else," Clive said, holding Lauren close.

"Got anymore painkillers?" I asked. He laughed. "We're gonna need 'em."

And then we heard the train horn. It sounded over the industrial district like an angel's trumpet. We all turned our heads, listening over the chorus of gunfire and explosions. I saw the light, coming like a lightning bolt down the track, through the rain and smoke, welcoming us with its burning warmth.

"Alexa!" I shouted, "Come on!"

A spray of gunfire peppered the bench I was hiding behind. The platform was being overrun, the Locust climbing up the stairs. Clive turned down the stairway with the shotgun, firing burst after burst at the advancing hordes. They sprawled backwards, arms and legs flying off of their torsos. Lauren covered her ears over the noise. The train horn was growing louder.

"Alexa!"

I opened fire with the Lancer, cutting down more and more as they ran up the stairs. The emergence hole was an endless conduit, spitting hordes and hordes of Locust up to the train station. They were massing up beneath us, all different shapes and sizes, storming the three survivors on the platform. Alexa was sprinting down the stairs of the factory as fast as she could.

"Nash, I'm out of ammo!" I heard Clive shout.

And then came the Alpha Locust. It saw me, starting forward with a glare in its serpentine eyes, much like the glare it had when it killed West. I spun around, ready to fire, when it grabbed the barrel of the gun, grasping it in its giant hand. For a moment, there was silence on the platform as the two sides starred one another down. The end was inevitable.

"Kill the males," it growled, "Crush the child!"

"You haven't won yet," I stepped forward, gritting my teeth. I found the second trigger of the Lancer, revving the chainsaw. I saw the Locusts' eyes grow wide just before it kicked to life. I shifted my weight forward, bringing it down, through its hand, then its shoulder, then its torso, all blanketed in a spray of blood and gore. The Locust fell backwards, just as the train came howling into the station.

"Come on!"

The Locust opened fire as we turned and headed toward the train. Clive tossed his daughter onboard, him closely behind. I laid down a blanket of fire behind us, waiting for Alexa. Just then, she appeared, jumping down from the second floor and onto the awning. She too was firing her rifle into the hordes.

"Go!" she shouted.

"You're not pulling that hero bullshit," I yelled to her, "Get on the train!"

She jumped onto the same car as Clive and Lauren, holding out her hand for me. I grabbed it, then took cover behind a stack of steel girders. I fired my Lancer once more, just as the train began to pull out of the platform. It picked up speed, the bullets and shrapnel that was chasing after us fading away into the night. When it was done, I dropped the Lancer, looking at my shaking hands.

"Daddy?" I heard a small voice call.

"Yes, darling?" answered Clive, out of breath.

"I want to go home."

I fell backwards, watching the factories and warehouses slipping away into the blackness behind us. The rain kept falling as I slipped into a state of unconsciousness on that supply train.

The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was beginning to rise over a drowning Sera. The rain had ended, but the ground of the countryside was damp with it. I could smell the new life and let it fill my senses as we raced off to what I hoped was Jacinto Plateau. I turned my head and saw the sun starting to slump its wide body over Sera's horizon.

I had lived to see all of E-Day. But what was in store, no one could tell.


End file.
